<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Blood Lust by ephymri</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29720883">Blood Lust</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephymri/pseuds/ephymri'>ephymri</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Avatar: Rise of the Water Tribes [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Katara (Avatar)-centric, Small ambush</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:55:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>946</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29720883</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephymri/pseuds/ephymri</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When their ship is subject to an attack, Katara sees just how different she and her brother are.</p>
<p>// The second installation to my world-building series :)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katara &amp; Sokka (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Avatar: Rise of the Water Tribes [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2180868</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Blood Lust</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Katara: 8<br/>Sokka: 11</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sokka had always been different. Katara knew that. </p>
<p>They were brother and sister, living under the same roof, but worlds apart and raised on different beliefs. She had seen phantoms of this difference throughout her life. From their aspirations to their fears, they were opposites.</p>
<p>There was a burn scar that Sokka always wore proudly. It curled around his bicep and ended in uneven patches just before his elbow. He objected to having it covered and protested when royal visits into the tribe would require him to dress up. The sight of it always sent a wave of memories and jumbled emotions Katara’s way. The story behind that scar was one of the first times Katara had realized just how far apart she and her brother were.</p>
<p>The small ambush of the past had happened during a trip back to the Southern Water Tribes to visit Gran-Gran and her mother, both of whom had to stay in the south when Hakoda traveled with his children. Their father had stayed behind in the north for meetings with Chief Arnook, and this would mark their first time traveling alone. The air had been cold and unforgiving, frigid compared to some of the coldest days she’d experienced. The wind nipped at Katara’s skin, causing her to pull her coat tighter around herself. She had chosen to leave the rooms she and her brother shared to replace the noise of his complaints with the calming sounds of the water against their ship. Lately, complaining was all Sokka did.</p>
<p>	He complained about training and not training. He cursed their mother for not letting him roughhouse with the other kids outside of the palace and ranted about having to leave his studies in the north to visit Gran-Gran. The protests had begun to grate her nerves. She had needed a moment of silence.</p>
<p>	So there Katara stood, hands wrapped in warm gloves and resting on the side of the ship. The quiet was welcome and even with the shuffle of guards and tribesmen doing their duties, she was content. What came next was a split-second change, one moment of breathing in cold air and the next being yanked back. A glance back revealed Kalah. She was the head of the guard team that had been sent to ensure Katara and Sokka made it to the South Pole safely. Her face was twisted into a determined frown and despite wanting to pull away everything in Katara screamed at her that something was happening. Katara let herself be yanked deeper into the ship, below the deck, and down to a floor beneath where their rooms were.<br/>
Despite the softness of it Katara still stumbled when Kalah nudged her into a small room, blue eyes hard as she told her to stay quiet. Katara frowned and looked around the small room. It was dark, cramped in a way Katara wasn’t used to, and decidedly empty.</p>
<p>“Where’s Sokka?” </p>
<p>	Kalah didn’t respond, too busy commanding another guard, a nameless man that Katara could recall seeing around the palace, who had followed them down. She began heading for the door and Katara rushed after her. “Kalah, my brother!”</p>
<p>	If she heard her, she didn’t react and Katara was pulled back by the other. A large slab of wood was pulled to the side, effectively shrouding the small room in darkness.</p>
<p>	Through the cracks, Katara heard a familiar scream.</p>

<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>	- </p>
</div><p>	In retrospect, the attack had lasted a relatively short time. The guards had regained control of the situation in record time, but for Katara who had nothing but the silence and the cold presence of a guard who wouldn’t speak to her, it had felt like an eternity. Despite the efficiency, Katara was shaking.</p>
<p>	As she was ushered from the room, the stone-faced guard silent as he led her up the stairs, she could still hear that familiar scream. It had sounded like Sokka. </p>
<p>No one would tell her anything when asked, all too busy with dealing with the aftermath of the attack. It wasn’t until she was stopped in front of the infirmary that she was able to see her brother and find the answer to if he was okay.</p>
<p>	She shuffled in expecting a grim atmosphere and instead was met with Sokka, lying back on one of the beds as he chatted loudly with the healer, recounting the events. When he caught sight of her, his eyes were twinkling, shining with excitement as if his life hadn’t been at stake.</p>
<p>	Katara did everything she felt she should. She rushed to his side, throwing her arms around him once she had the okay from the healer. She avoided the injured arm and simply let herself accept that he seemed fine. Throughout the day, she attempted to stray from the topic of the attack, afraid that he’d hate it and that she’d have to relive it. For Sokka, it was all he wanted to talk about.</p>
<p>	They were instructed to stay in their room the rest of the day, and as they were put to bed, instead of whispered assurances that he was alright, Sokka rambled excitedly about how the healer said the bandaged wound would scar.</p>
<p>	Katara curled into the furs of her bed, seeking comfort, and took short breaths to ease the panic that she felt at the thought of possibly losing her older brother. She found herself unable to sleep as Sokka enthusiastically told of his plans of traveling back to the North as soon as their father would allow it and showing off his “battle scars”. He wanted everyone to know that he had gone against a real-life “ash maker” and lived to tell the tale.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>